As promised, Signora Angelino appeared at Sofia’s bedroom door early in the morning about one week after they returned from the trip to Napoli.
“Are your bags packed?”
“Of course.”
“Then let’s get going.”
Sofia’s father took them to the train station. From the exterior, it did not look much like a train station at all. Glass windows extended from ground to roof of the three-story structure. The bright white glow of fluorescent lights highlighted its contents. People waited in long lines, purchasing tickets and checking their luggage. It wasn’t much different than the Leonardo da Vinci Airport, only a few kilometers away.
“Ciao, papa!”
“Ciao, mio caro,” he said as he kissed her on the cheek.
The entrance said “Roma Termini” in large white letters. The hallway stretched as far as the eye could see. Sofia listened to the click-clack of her wheels as her luggage rolled behind her. The terminal was abuzz with that same sound.
After Signora Angelino purchased two tickets, they grabbed juice and muffins and waited for their train to arrive. Sofia looked for their trip on the toteboard.
“Milano, Firenze, Pisa, Torino…Venizia.”
Signora Angelino had a surprise for Sofia. She handed Sofia her ticket. It said ‘Arrive: Ravenna.’
“First, we’re going to Ravenna to see Uncle Paolo.”
“What about Venice?”
“Venice will wait. Ravenna is first.”
Sofia looked at the toteboard again. Ravenna was near the bottom of the list. Sofia heaved a sigh and sat beside her mother. The listing for Ravenna crept up the signboard until it was first. Sofia quicklyh went to the gate. A porter took her ticket and bags. Then, he led her to the passenger car. The conductor’s voice came over the speakers as Sofia settled into her seat.
“Questo è Trenitalia viaggio Roma a Ravenna arriva a mezzogiorno.”
It was just after 8 a.m. The trip to Ravenna would arrive at noon. That gave Sofia plenty of time to rest. However, she was too anxious to sleep. She looked out the window as the train pulled away from the station. Visions of Rome slowly rolled by, soon replaced by the Italian countryside.
“It’s hard to imagine this was all part of the Roman Empire. How could one man control all of this?”
“When the Empire was at its peak, it was more than one man could handle. Eventually, the Empire broke into Western and Eastern halves. Two Emperors ruled the land.”
“When did that happen?”
“It didn’t all happen at once. Around three hundred years after Julius Caesar commanded the Roman legions at the Rhine River, the Empire reached into Africa and Asia. Emperors no longer made major conquests. Instead, they fought for control of Rome, ignoring the presence of marauders like the Franks, Goths, Gauls, and Vandals.
As the Emperor Diocletian watched the Empire fall apart. he appointed a high-ranking member of his army as co-emperor. Still, the Roman Empire could not control the marauders on the outside or the Senators on the inside.
Fifty years later in 325 C.E., Constantine the Great moved the capital east, headed for a small desert town set perfectly between Europe, Africa, and Asia. The town was called Byzantium.”
.Where is Byzantium?”
“It’s Istanbul, in Turkey. Before that, it was called Constantinople, after Emperor Constantine.
When Constantine moved the capital, he called it New Rome.Ten years earlier, he had written a law called “The Edict of Milan”. It allowed for religious tolerance. Now, as the Emperor in Byzantium, he proclaimed Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Catholicism also owed its beginnings to Constantine. He held council in another Turkish town called Nicaea. Bishops gathered to agree on the foundations of both religions, including religious laws and concepts.”
“Did this bring the barbarians under control?”
“Hardly. As this happened, warring tribes fought over the borderlands. Another forty years passed until a group of farmers known as the Goths crossed the Danube. Like the Rhine River had done for Julius Caesar, the Danube marked one of the Empire’s boundaries.
The Goths had been chased by a band of marauders called the Hungs. They thought they were free of troubles. Instead, the Romans enslaved the Goths.
Meanwhile, the tribes located throughout Europe and Asia fought over these lands, which include present-day Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary.”
Sofia was caught up in the confusion as the train conductor announced the train’s arrival. When the train came to a stop, Sofia and her mother picked up their bags and exited.
“Mio caro nipote!” called a voice.
“Mio caro zio Paolo!”
Sofia and her uncle greeted each other with a hearty ‘my dear niece’ and ‘my dear uncle!’ Uncle Paolo loaded Sofia’s luggage into the car while she hopped into the back seat.
Even though the ride to Uncle Paolo’s house was brief, Sofia still had a chance to see the sights. Unlike Rome and Naples, the buildings of Ravenna were different. Where Rome had marble, Ravenna had bricks. Where Rome had columns, Ravenna had geometric towers – round, square, and even octagonal. The stately square roofs of Rome were replaced by Ravenna’s sloped roofs, just like country villas.
“It’s amazing how a short distance can seem like a world away,” said Sofia.
“It is a world away,” replied Uncle Paolo, “Ravenna faces east, towards Asia. That’s a world away.”
“It’s because of Attila the Hun,” said Sofia proudly.
Uncle Paolo shook his head.
“It was because the glory of Ravenna rested on the shoulders of an Emperor named Justinian. The Empire had struggled with many invaders. Long after Attila disappeared, the Goths and Vandals replaced the Huns. Justinian fought great wars with these other marauders. He re-established the Empire for quite some time. Then, the Black Plague destroyed the entire Roman Empire. In fact, it destroyed the barbarians, too,”
Sofia headed inside Uncle Paolo’s house. Aunt Lisabetta had prepared dinner. It was fish-stuffed Ravioli. Sofia and her mother quickly ate. Then, the adults went to the living room to rest while Sofia looked for something to do.
“What’s wrong?”
“All of your children are grown,” said Sofia.
“That is true,” said Uncle Paolo, “but I do have some toys.”
He rummaged through the old toy chest.
“Here are some cars and trucks.”
Sofia shook her head.
“I have building blocks.”
Sofia heaved a sigh. Unfortunately, there were only toys for boys.
”There aren’t any girl’s toys?”
“Do you like toy trains?”
Sofia remained quiet.
“I suppose not,” said Uncle Paolo, “your cousin Maria has children of her own. How about we sit and listen to music?”
Sofia shrugged her shoulders. Uncle Paolo reached into his record cabinet. He took the old vinyl LP out of the old cardboard sleeve and carefully threaded it onto the carousel.
“An old record?”
“This is how music should be played.”
“Zio...”
Uncle Paolo did not like CDs or Cassettes. He did not even know how an MP3 player worked. Instead, they listened as the speakers crackled with the sound of the record needle in the groove. Then, a loud booming brass sound as an orchestra came to life. Uncle Paolo waved his hands like a music conductor.
“Zio!” she pleaded.
“Paolo,” said Aunt Lisabetta, “this girl does not want to hear your tired old Giuseppe Verdi music.”
“But he’s a master,” said Paolo as his arms continued waving around.
Aunt Lisabetta quickly removed the needle from the album. It scratched as she did.
“Lisabetta!”
“Take her out to see the Piazza. You could use the fresh air.”
“Alright, alright,” said Uncle Paolo as he carefully replaced the album into its sleeve and offered a hand to his niece.
“Diamo da mangiare agli gabbiani,” suggested Paolo.
“Fantastico!” said Sofia.
Finally, something Sofia liked...
Uncle Paolo grabbed an old loaf of bread from the kitchen and tucked it under his arm. He put on his favorite hat and took Sofia by the hand as they walked to the piazza to feed the seagulls.
However, there were no birds in the plaza. There were no people either. Instead, there were only empty buildings.
“We could go in here,” suggested Uncle Paolo.
Sofia crinkled her nose.
“Come on...”
They went, hand-in-hand, into the Basilica San Vitale.
The great duomo was an unorthodox eight-sided octogon. Sofia marvelled at it, but only slightly. It wasn’t until she entered the basilica that she saw the true wonder.
Mosaics covered the interior walls and dome. Tiny chips of glass, pottery, and gold were arranged into pictures from Christ’s life, including the scenes from all parts of the Bible. Additionally, Saint Justinian (the Emperor) adorned several of the walls.
“This is amazing,” said Sofia as she attempted to touch the wall. Uncle Paolo quickly swiped her hand away.
“Ravenna is the city of mosaics. This is 1500-year-old art,” he said, “you must treat it as such.”
Sofia ambled through the cathedral, investigating each and every panel. A hammering sound came from a back room. Uncle Paolo went inside. Sofia followed.
An old man crouched over a half-finished mosaic with rows of bowls to each side. The bowls, filled with chips of differently colored glass, were his paint palette. He carefully picked out the glass chips and glued them into place.
“Scusa, è questo per la basilica?”
“No, questo va in America,” said the old man.
Someone in America had placed an order for his mosaic painting and he would be shipping it there when it was complete.
“Would you like to try?” offered the man.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
The old man applied mortar to the back of the colored glass and handed it to Sofia. Then, he directed her to the spot where he worked. She carefully set it in place. The old man pressed it into place and used a wet rag to clean the surface. He then went back to work.
As it got late, Sofia and her Uncle returned to the house.
“Didn’t you find any birds?” asked Aunt Lisabetta.
Uncle Paolo looked down at his bread bag. He had not even removed the twist-tie.
“Maybe tomorrow,” he said.
“Maybe not,” said Signora Angelino, “We are headed to Venice.”
“Maybe some other time then.”
“It’s okay, mio caro, I had a great time at the Basilica.”
Uncle Paolo returned to his turntable, playing his old records of old classic music, including all the old Italian masters like Pucchi and Verdi. Meanwhile, Sofia retreated to the guest room and put on her own headphones with her own modern music. As daylight faded, she watched the sky change from day to night. She opened her window and let the cool breeze blow off the Adriatic Sea. As she lay back on the bed, she thought about the fresh, clean air.
Then, she just thought about tomorrow. It was sure to be another adventure-filled day.
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